Habakkuk 2
Legacy Standard Bible
The Righteous Will Live by His Faith
2 I will (A)stand on my guard post
And station myself on the fortification;
And I will (B)keep watch to see (C)what He will speak to me
And how I may respond [a]when I am reproved.
2 Then Yahweh answered me and said,
“(D)Write down the vision
And write it on tablets distinctly,
That [b]the one who [c]reads it may run.
3 For the vision is yet for the (E)appointed time;
It pants toward its end, and it will not [d]lie.
Though it tarries, (F)wait for it;
For it will certainly come; it (G)will not delay.
4 “Behold, as for the (H)proud one,
His soul is not right within him;
But the (I)righteous will live by his [e]faith.
5 And indeed, (J)wine betrays the (K)haughty man
So that he does not (L)stay at home.
He (M)enlarges his appetite like Sheol,
And he is like death, never satisfied.
He also gathers to himself all nations
And assembles to himself all peoples.
6 “Will not all of these (N)lift up a taunt-song against him,
Even satire and riddles against him
And say, ‘(O)Woe to him who increases what is not his—
For how long—
And makes himself [f]rich with loans?’
7 Will not [g]your creditors (P)rise up suddenly,
And those who make you tremble awaken?
Indeed, you will become spoil for them.
8 Because you have (Q)taken many nations as spoil,
All that is left of the peoples will take you as spoil—
Because of human bloodshed and violence [h]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
9 “Woe to him who is greedy for (R)evil gain for his house
To (S)put his nest on high,
To be delivered from the hand of evil!
10 You have counseled a (T)shameful thing for your house
By cutting off many peoples;
So you are (U)sinning against your own soul.
11 Surely the (V)stone will cry out from the wall,
And the rafter will answer it from the [i]framework.
12 “Woe to him who (W)builds a city with bloodshed
And founds a town with injustice!
13 Is it not, behold, from Yahweh of hosts
That peoples (X)toil for fire,
And nations grow weary for nothing?
14 For the earth will be (Y)filled
With the knowledge of the glory of Yahweh,
As the waters cover the sea.
15 “Woe to you who make [j]your neighbors drink,
Who mix in your venom even to make them drunk
So as to look on their nakedness!
16 You will be filled with disgrace rather than glory.
Now you yourself (Z)drink and [k]expose your own nakedness.
The (AA)cup in Yahweh’s right hand will come around to you,
And (AB)utter disgrace will come upon your glory.
17 For the (AC)violence [l]done to Lebanon will cover you,
And the devastation of its beasts [m]by which you terrified them,
(AD)Because of human bloodshed and (AE)violence [n]done to the land,
To the town and all its inhabitants.
18 “What (AF)profit is the graven image when its maker has engraved it,
Or a molten image, a (AG)teacher of [o]lies?
For its maker (AH)trusts in his own making
When he fashions speechless idols.
19 Woe to him who (AI)says to a piece of wood, ‘(AJ)Awake!’
To a mute stone, ‘Arise!’
And that is your teacher?
Behold, it is overlaid with (AK)gold and silver,
And there is (AL)no breath at all inside it.
20 But (AM)Yahweh is in His holy temple.
[p]Let all the earth (AN)be silent before Him.”
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:1 Lit upon my reproof
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or one may read it fluently
- Habakkuk 2:2 Or is to proclaim it
- Habakkuk 2:3 Or fail
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
- Habakkuk 2:6 Lit heavy
- Habakkuk 2:7 Lit those who bite you
- Habakkuk 2:8 Lit of the land
- Habakkuk 2:11 Lit wood
- Habakkuk 2:15 Lit his neighbor
- Habakkuk 2:16 As in DSS and ancient versions; or stagger; lit show yourself uncircumcised
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit of Lebanon
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit which terrified them
- Habakkuk 2:17 Lit of the land
- Habakkuk 2:18 Lit a lie
- Habakkuk 2:20 Lit Hush before Him, all the earth
Habakkuk 2
English Standard Version
2 I will (A)take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and (B)look out to see (C)what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
The Righteous Shall Live by His Faith
2 And the Lord answered me:
(D)“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
3 For still (E)the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, (F)wait for it;
(G)it will surely come; it will not delay.
4 “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but (H)the righteous shall live by his faith.[a]
5 “Moreover, wine[b] is (I)a traitor,
an arrogant man who is never at rest.[c]
His greed is as wide as Sheol;
like death (J)he has never enough.
(K)He gathers for himself all nations
and collects as his own all peoples.”
Woe to the Chaldeans
6 Shall not all these (L)take up their taunt against him, with scoffing and riddles for him, and say,
(M)“Woe to him (N)who heaps up what is not his own—
for (O)how long?—
and (P)loads himself with pledges!”
7 (Q)Will not your debtors suddenly arise,
and those awake who will make you tremble?
Then you will be spoil for them.
8 (R)Because you have plundered many nations,
all the remnant of the peoples shall plunder you,
(S)for the blood of man and (T)violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
9 (U)“Woe to him who gets evil gain for his house,
(V)to (W)set his nest on high,
to be safe from the reach of harm!
10 You have devised shame for your house
(X)by cutting off many peoples;
you have forfeited your life.
11 For (Y)the stone will cry out from the wall,
and the beam from the woodwork respond.
12 (Z)“Woe to him (AA)who builds a town with blood
and founds a city on iniquity!
13 Behold, is it not from the Lord of hosts
that (AB)peoples labor merely for fire,
and nations weary themselves for nothing?
14 (AC)For the earth will be filled
with the knowledge of (AD)the glory of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea.
15 (AE)“Woe to him (AF)who makes his neighbors drink—
you pour out your wrath and make them drunk,
in order to gaze (AG)at their nakedness!
16 You will have your fill (AH)of shame instead of glory.
(AI)Drink, yourself, and show your uncircumcision!
(AJ)The cup in the Lord's right hand
will come around to you,
and (AK)utter shame will come upon your glory!
17 (AL)The violence (AM)done to Lebanon will overwhelm you,
as will the destruction of the beasts that terrified them,
(AN)for the blood of man and violence to the earth,
to cities and all who dwell in them.
18 (AO)“What profit is an idol
when its maker has shaped it,
a metal image, (AP)a teacher of lies?
For its maker trusts in his own creation
when he makes (AQ)speechless idols!
19 (AR)Woe to him (AS)who says to a wooden thing, Awake;
to a silent stone, Arise!
Can this teach?
Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver,
and (AT)there is no breath at all in it.
20 But (AU)the Lord is in his holy temple;
(AV)let all the earth keep silence before him.”
Footnotes
- Habakkuk 2:4 Or faithfulness
- Habakkuk 2:5 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll wealth
- Habakkuk 2:5 The meaning of the Hebrew of these two lines is uncertain
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
